Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas at MiMi's

Christmas Eve around our house was a little different than originally planned. Dan had to preach a funeral at 2 pm so that caused a major reshuffle of our plans. Jonah and I ended up driving 2 hours to Jackson, spending 2 hours there and then driving 2 hours back home. We wanted to be at the gathering at my mom's house but at the same time did not want to miss our traditions we have at our house on Christmas Eve.

I really missed being with Dan on that day but knew he was right where he needed to be. I get a little frustrated with his job some times because it causes him to miss so many things when there is a crisis with a church member. But, I quickly remind myself of how flexible his schedule is at other times. He never missed a doctor's appointment when I was pregnant with Jonah. Not many men can do that. So, it is a trade off. AND, it makes it easier to take because I know he is doing exactly what God has called him to do.

Anyway... back to Christmas Eve at my mom's house. We got there just in time for a yummy meal. My mom made all of my Grandmother's specialties without the help of my grandmother. I guess I'm in line to learn all of those recipes next. They are both great cooks. This is the look I got from Jonah when I told him he had to wait so we could say the blessing before eating. Yeah, he was hungry!Hannah has grown TONS since I saw her in July at Jonah's birthday party. She turned 10 and shot straight up in the air!I'm not sure if you remember the Silly String post, but my brother decided to be funny and give that to Jonah as his very first gift. He thought it was funny to spray someone else. It was so cute to see him open a present from someone then go hug them. Hannah happily took every hug he offered her. It makes me proud to see him be so polite. We work really hard on that at home. My mom got him a Black and Decker tool set that he loves. He got a different set from Doug and Allison (you will see those in another Christmas post). Tools seem to be at the top of his favorite things this year. He keeps going back to one of those sets. Mom got both of the kids umbrellas. From the looks of the next picture, Jonah is destined for bad luck. He does not seem to mind. Here I am with my favorite sister in law on my side of the family. I can't make that distinction on Dan's side since there are two!!! I love Emily and have so much fun with her at family gatherings. We would have been through opening gifts in about 10 minutes if it weren't for slow poke Jonah. He took his time and removed every piece of tape. It was actually very cute to watch.

I'm always happy to see my Hannah Banana! She turned 10 in October and is growing so fast. She was born right after Dan & I were engaged. She was just a little baby at our wedding. Now, she is all grown up and cares more about Hannah Montana and High School Musical than she does her Nick-Nick! My mom was so happy to give Jonah his first GI Joe doll. She knows how concerned Dan has been about Jonah's obsession with princesses. (He hasn't touched Joe since getting him! Sorry Daddy!)Jonah's most favorite gift from my mom was his Little Tikes Shopping Cart. She has one at her house that was Hannah's and he adores it. He pushes it every where. So, she got him one for Christmas. It has already gone many miles up and down our hallway. And, DO NOT put anything in the cart. He has a fit! He is the only one who can put something in there and it is usually his four new trucks. Scott looks a little weird int he next picture. Maybe it is because he is having to hold a MSU shirt. He is a die hard Ole Miss fan and still can't accept that my child wears MSU clothes or roots for the bulldogs. My grandmother even got him this MSU sweat suit. I was pretty amazed by that because she loves her Rebels too!The last thing we did before leaving was empty mom's piggy banks for the kids. She puts all of her change in 2 different banks. One is for Jonah and one is for Hannah. Periodically, she gives us the money so we can put it in their banks at home. Then we roll it and put it in Jonah's college fund. This time the banks had 1 full cup of change and another half cup. Jonah loves his MONIES. I'm not at all sure how that picture ended up at the very end but it did so I will explain it. Mom got Jonah a digital camera to keep at her house. He loves taking pictures.